Mario Kart: Double Dash Review by Atmablitz
Gamecube Reviews
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Mario Kart: Double Dash Review

Welcome the forth installment to the Mario Kart series, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Just like the other games in the series, this game dishes up some enormous multiplayer fun. So there is no doubt about it, this game is fantastic when it comes to racing with three friends. The fun could last for hours. Despite this praise I have delivered, it's not my favourite in the series (Super Circuit is amazing). I don't even think it's as good as Mario Kart 64. Why do I think this way? Because the game simply doesn't measure up to what it could have been.

And trust me, after awhile of playing; you may start to see that it could have been leaps and bounds better. But then again, you may not. I've read some other reviews on this game, and some people are saying it had tons of flaws, whilst others say it has none. I'm definitely agreeing with the reviews that state this game has flaws, and for reasons that I'll point out within this review.

When you start playing the game, the biggest variation you should become aware of from the other three games in the series is that instead of one racer to a kart, you can have two - one of the reasons for the title Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. This was a great idea, and it proved to work well. Having two to a kart built strategy to a race, when you compare it to one racer within a kart. Each character in the game has a special item they can pick up while racing. It could be something to give them an extra boost, or something to plow the people in front of you. But whatever the special may be, it's always good to have two. The only thing about this is that some specials seem to be a lot better then others. I guess it depends on where you use it, but some are much better, in many more tracks, in a lot more situations. What can fix this, even more so when one of your favourite characters has a special you dislike? Well, you can always take someone else with a much better special as a partner. Despite the fact that this solution is here, sometimes it isn't good enough, and you may just end up abandoning your favourite character. After all, why have one crud special and one great, when you can have two great?

Mario Kart: Double Dash!! consists of 16 tracks, with even more characters. The tracks are not as well designed as they could have been, and almost all come with a small flaw - for many of the shortcuts in them, you need a mushroom (Mushroom is an item that can speed you up) for them to be successful as a shortcut. As I said, this is only a small flaw, and shouldn't really ruin any of the fun. Many of the tracks will also include obstacles (Piranha Plants, fire, Goombas, etc.) along with the shortcuts. And although they can be irritating (Usually when you're losing the race), they can truly make the tracks what they are. And most of the time that means, "Makes the tracks tremendously fun". Even though some tracks have corners that involve tight turning, the controls in this game are excellent, so after a bit, you should have no problem mastering the turns.
 

Group artwork 2


While playing, you'll notice tiny blue squares on the road. Hitting these allows you to have an item. Although items already mentioned were the mushroom and the characters special, this isn't the end. The game consists of many items, such as banana peels that drivers can skid on, or blue shells that can hunt down the player in first place, and basically explode while atop of them, and more. Items may be nothing new to Mario Kart fans, for they have been in the first three games. But the new feature for items in this game is very interesting, and very useful to players. Instead of just the regular blue squares, there are now rectangles, formed by two item squares. Hitting these allows the driver to get two items, which can be very useful as mentioned earlier. You can even get two items with out hitting the rectangles - The person in the back simply needs to pass the item they hold to the driver by pressing Y or X, and taking a new item by hitting a regular box. The items can be switched at almost any time. But there is an item feature that should have been there, and it's very disappointing that it isn't - the ability to choose exactly what items you want for what track you want. You can set the only item to Banana, and they would be all over the track as you race with your friends. It would be great fun, and it would make the gameplay in this game very deep.

One thing I found to be disappointing, is that you don't have the option to race a computer player, or several computer players unless you do Grand Prix. I don't understand why this was not available. Say you want to play a track where you know you could lap the computer player tons of times. You may have to race through a couple tracks just to get to it. This is a major flaw in my opinion, because this is something all racers should have. If a racer doesn't have it, gameplay drops. If this game weren’t as fun as it is in multiplayer, it probably would be an awful game. Still, they have the Time Trials, Battle Mode (Which is kinda dull), and crazy multiplayer races. They also have Mirror Mode, which it the entire track reversed. What would have been better is having an opposite mode, which allows you to drive the other direction of the track. Sure, some of the tracks would have to be changed a bit, but it wouldn't have been that hard to do, and the Replay Value would soar.

Visually, Double Dash!! is very notable. The colours are nice and vivid, and fit with the environment of the game. Backgrounds are nice and detailed, and give a good feel of many tracks. Possibly the best thing about this all is that there could be loads, and loads of things happening on the screen, and the game can still uphold 60fps. Music and sounds in the game are decent; nothing really spectacular. But just like the graphics, they do fit the mood of the game. And when it really all comes down to it, that's one of the most important aspects of it all.

Because of it's multiplayer fun, Double Dash!! is a fun game, but not nearly as fun as it could have been. A little more effort and it could have been one of the greatest games ever. Just look at Super SmashThe Bullet Blaster kart Brothers Melee - it's one of the best games ever, simply because it truly delivers when it comes to deep gameplay, with items and options. It's worth it to buy, and a fun rental. But you may be disappointed.

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